Getting (Back) Into Golf

Checking in about what I've been up to (and what's kept me from writing as much as I should)

If you’ve been following my antics on the various social media, you know that I’ve spent my last fleeting days of summer vacation getting out on the links and playing golf. I’ve also being trying to watch more golf too (the Olympics being the biggest example of this) and following the professional game.

Some pictures of me out on the golf course

On the one hand, this isn’t a huge surprise. I played a little bit growing up (I tried playing on the golf team my freshman year of high school before realizing that being in the drama department was much more my speed and made that transition), and I’ve got a lot of family (including my dad and uncles) who play a lot and with whom I’ve played.

On the other hand, maybe this is a bit of surprise or seemingly coming out of nowhere. But as I’ve been getting back into it, I’ve been realizing it’s something that might be… good for me?

One reason I think why I’m taking to this a bit more easily than I expected is because the solitary nature of golf works for me. I’m a very introverted person who does better when left alone. That lends itself to playing golf. Now, when I’m hitting terrible shots and in my own head as it happens (which happens quite a lot), then perhaps that isolation isn’t the best thing. But being able to go out in the outdoors (a manicured outdoors, but one nevertheless) and play on my own is something I really value. It’s also something I can do on my own. I don’t need another person to go out on the course and play.

I also think it’s something that speaks to me as a constant tinkerer, someone who’s perpetually looking for new stuff, and yes something of a gear and fashion head. I’m always looking at new stuff, new technology, and new clothes. Golf, in its way, plays into that. It also plays into my obsessive nature regarding cataloguing or thinking (you can spend a lot of time thinking about your swing or what you would do if you were out on the course). As funny as it sounds, what drew me to the Grateful Dead (the way you can be so obsessive and dive deeply into their history and the stats of their shows/where they played/which live version of a song is the best) kind of comes up with golf and why I’m able to get into it.

I’m also drawn to watching the sport more as I can feel my passion for baseball really dissipate with the Oakland A’s moving to Las Vegas (eventually). Baseball and golf, as spectator sports, occupy similar lanes in terms of their constant presence, the amount you can consume, and the leisurely pace of the game itself. Like baseball, there’s something soothing and relaxed about following a golf tournament. It also helps that players from my alma mater, the University of Texas, do pretty well and thus give me easy people to root for.

There are some things that gave me pause about heading down this path. Without getting too explicitly political… there are elements of the golf world that are so reactionary and retrograde that it puts me off. I mean, one of the most notable golfing figures (who isn’t a professional golfer) is a certain former President of the United States who I am very much opposed to with every fiber of my being.

Rick Reilly’s book on that figure and his relationship to golf changed my thinking a bit, as he pointed out that at its core golf is a game of the people (it does not have to be aspirational) and thus the way it has been cast by that former president is a bit misleading.

I’ve also been enjoying some Twitter friends and follows with people who seem to be on a similar ideological wavelength with me but also who love golf (@ANGC_burner @brysandel @BrianKirschner_ @tweeth_mitchell). Also, the content produced by the NoLayingUp team (especially the Strapped series, which I’ve been marathon watching) and the Fried Egg people has been some of my favorite stuff to watch/listen to and treats the game (both as a sport to play and to watch/follow) like how I treat it. As silly as it is to say, having those reference points so you don’t feel so strange really helps. The Full Swing series on Netflix also kindled my interest and made the world of professional golf seem less separated from the other professional sports. It cannot be overstated what that show, along with these great podcasters and content creators, have done to really grow the game and develop interest in it.

This newsletter isn’t going to turn into a golf-centric one, don’t worry. It’ll still be music (I will be finishing up my Steely Dan Top 25 very soon, and then moving into another countdown…) and movies and books and other sports… but yes maybe a little more golf too (it does seem like a good sport for writers, given the work John Feinstein and John Updike, to name a couple, have done about it, as well as

Geoff Shackelford

and his great newsletter here).